Mecklenburg is a historic region in the northeast of Germany. It was located in the western portion of what is now the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern along the south coast of the Baltic Sea.

Until the 12th century the region was covered by primeval forest inhabited first by Teutonic then Slavic tribes. The inhabitants of the area were primarily hunters. During that period the land was not cultivated and was isolated from the areas to the south.

In the year 1160 the Duke of Saxony, Henry the Lion, brought German influence and Christianity to the region through colonization and missionary work. Following that what is known as the Mecklenburg dynasty was formed by Przybyslaw who was a vassal of Henry the Lion. In the 13th century the great-grandsons of Przybyslaw partitioned the region into four areas: Mecklenburg, Rostock, Güstrow and Parchim. Mecklenburg was named for the family castle, Mikilinborg. In the year 1348 the German king Charles IV gave the Mecklenburg family the titles of dukes and princes, elevating the Mecklenburg holdings to a duchy. In the year 1436 the four areas under Mecklenburg rule and the areas of the lordship of Stargard and the courtship of Schwerin were combined into one region known as Mecklenburg.

In the 16th and 17th centuries Mecklenburg was split into two duchies: Mecklenburg-Schwerin in the west and Mecklenburg-Güstrow to the east. The dukes were removed from power during the Thirty Years' War, then restored to power again by the Swedes. Mecklenburg was combined again in 1695, but divided again in 1701 through the Treaty of Hamburg. The new duchies were Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Mecklenburg-Strelitz was composed of areas to the northwest and southeast of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

Flag of Mecklenburg

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In 1806 the French armies of Napoleon occupied the duchies. In 1808 the duchies joined the Confederation of Rhine which was established by Napoleon I. The War of German Liberation of 1813-15 liberated Germany from France and 1815 the Mecklenburg duchies were elevated to grand duchies and they became members of the German confederation. They joined the North German Confederation in 1867 and in 1871 the German Reich.

Although it was a member of several loosely knit confederations, until joining the German Reich in 1871 Mecklenburg remained an independent state. Even when it was surrounded by the ever expanding empire of Prussia, it remained independent.

Following World War II Mecklenburg became a state of the GDR (the German Democratic Republic also known as East Germany) before being subdivided into the districts of Rostock, Schwerin and Neubrandenburg in 1952.

Following the collapse of the GDR in 1989 the areas of the former duchies of Mecklenburg and the portion of the former Pommerania west of the river Oder were combined to become what is now known as the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

State Flag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

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